Category: News update

Is what we are going through today a new call from nature to guide us towards a brighter future? It seems that the Earth is restoring its rights. While Earth and humans form a unified entity, the planet has been sustaining man’s existence for thousands of years. Thus, he is the one much concerned with its riches and resources.

On the occasion of Earth Day, which is celebrated this year in different circumstances due to Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), we must ask ourselves some questions and answers based on the concrete realities surrounding us. Do we pay due attention to our planet? Does our behaviour lead to its preservation or destruction? Can human practices be considered responsible relative to this planet? If so, what are the prospects of making such practices favourable and beneficial to all?

The answers to these questions are undoubtedly not encouraging. Despite awareness of the importance of protecting the environment to sustain the planet and life on it, humans continue to squander its natural resources and spread pollution by relishing economic and social interests over protecting the environment. The situation has exacerbated immensely to harmful levels that threaten the very existence of humanity and led to the Ozone hole and the growing impact of the global warming phenomenon, which has resulted in climate change and posed dangers to human life.

Perhaps, the COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to reflect on the negative impact of human footprints on Earth. According to recent studies, the Ozone hole has been recovering gradually since the pandemic outbreak due to the decrease in the use of chemicals, greenhouse emission, aerial, ground and maritime traffic. Due to the measures taken following the COVID-19 outbreak, the rate of greenhouse emission in areas suffering from higher levels dropped by 25% as a result of production slowdown and social distancing.

Satellites also spotted a significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide pollution levels and a general improvement in the air quality at the global level. Also, many scientists stated that Coronavirus pandemic might lead this year to a worldwide drop in carbon dioxide pollution to its lowest rate in 70 years, as it plummeted by more than 5% compared with the same period last year. However, scientists warned that these levels might increase again or worsen with the resumption of the usual economic and social activities post-crisis scenario.

However, we cannot lose hope and should remain optimistic that humanity is heading towards a better future. It prompts us to ponder upon the question of future ethics and how we can capitalize on this pandemic.  Learn from the positive changes it caused and ensure their sustainability and avoid causing harm to future generations by assuming our responsibilities towards the continued protection of our environment.

Against this backdrop, and in observance of Earth Day, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) stressed the need to adopt these ethics and work on achieving them according to a comprehensive developmental approach. As such, ICESCO calls for:

1. Anticipating the repercussions of this pandemic crisis and considering possible future scenarios;

2. Dealing with the crisis in the short and immediate future and lay the foundations for the medium and long term goals;

3. Exerting the necessary stringent measures in dealing with environmental issues and anchoring the sense of responsibility towards future generations.

ICESCO Director-General: Covid-19 requires the adoption of innovative solutions to face crises

The Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, reaffirmed that the current appalling health crisis around the globe triggered by Covid-19, with a more than two 2.5 million infections and over 165 thousand deaths, requires a swift and vigorous intervention.  There should be a concerted effort to work harder to counter such pandemics by adopting innovative and effective methods, focusing mainly on raising awareness, training, capacity building, and the needed infrastructure.

As part of ICESCO Director-General’s address at the opening ceremony of a series of distance lectures on dealing with crises and catastrophes, which kicked off today and continues for two days, held by Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), in cooperation with ICESCO. Dr. AlMalik further stated that “specialized studies have confirmed that the frequency of catastrophes and crises has doubled in recent years, becoming more violent and destructive; earthquakes, volcanoes, tropical cyclones and other natural disasters cause heavy losses estimated by billions of dollars.”

Dr. AlMalik thanked NAUSS President, Dr. Abdulmajeed bin Abdullah Albanyan, for its cooperation with ICESCO in organizing these series of lectures on how to deal with crises and catastrophes amid Covid-19.

Moreover, the Director General stressed that being on top of the situation, ICESCO launched an ambitious programme for catastrophes risk management and reduction in the Islamic world for 2020-2024.  It aims at Muslim countries to build their capacities in countering catastrophes by enhancing their preventive management skills, reducing risks and addressing their impact.

Dr. AlMalik added that to contribute to combating the spread of Covid-19 around the globe, ICESCO launched several practical initiatives in its areas of competence, most notably:

• Global Humanitarian Coalition initiative through which ICESCO seeks to build an international coalition to utilize the most efficient mechanisms in field intervention in countering Covid-19 and reducing its current and future impacts;

• ICESCO Prize for Fighting against Coronavirus, with US$200,000 in prize money, to be awarded to anyone who discovers an effective treatment or vaccine for Covid-19;

• ICESCO Digital Home which provides digital educational contents, social and cultural dialogue platforms, and awareness-raising family-friendly contents for all;

• Supporting the sectors of education in several Member States with technology equipment to ensure the continuity of the educational process during the lockdown by producing online digital contents;

• Distance learning initiative for non-Arabic speaking students of the Arabic language through video courses and interactive platforms;

• Providing programmes through the initiative of “Distance Culture” to develop talents and unleash the creative and technical capabilities of students and young people in the Islamic world, and grant incentive awards in the various creative fields;

• Supporting the establishment of factories for the production of low-cost sanitizers for the benefit of citizens in some Member States, and training groups from local communities to sustain this action.

Dr. AlMalik concluded that, through these initiatives and programmes, ICESCO reaffirms its leading role in countering the adverse effects of Covid-19.  The Organization will continue with its commitment to closely follow-up the efforts to reduce the fallout of Covid-19 in educational, scientific, cultural, social, and humanitarian sectors and respectively provide the most efficient and effective ways to support in the Member states as the situation evolves.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) gives much importance in its current policies and plans that directly affect the region and Member States that are at higher risk of the world health crisis triggered by Covid-19. Along this line, ICESCO, launched a new initiative entitled “African Language Bridges of Culture and History,” as part of its projects falling under “ICESCO Digital Home.” The role of the African peoples’ local languages is of primary importance as it disseminates basic knowledge and facilitating the exchange of information and guidance among all groups of society,
Through this new initiative, ICESCO aims to contribute to the efforts geared towards raising health awareness to prevent the African communities from Covid-19.  

It desires to promote the cultural, social, and educational roles of local African languages and connect the African peoples with their heritage written in the Arabic script.  Further, it will provide media platforms in local African languages, keep these languages up-to-date with information technology, and showcase the strong historical ties between the Arabic language and the Sub-Saharan African languages.

This initiative, which falls under a joint project with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for using the Arabic script in writing the languages of the Muslim communities in Africa, comprises educational, scientific, and cultural themes. It includes three ambitious programs in cooperation with the International University of Africa in the Republic of Sudan (Yusuf Al-Khalifa Center for Writing Languages in Arabic letter), including a program for computerizing the African languages by designing computer keyboards for fifteen (15) languages and developing unique applications for the automated Arabic script; a program for developing the system of writing African languages in the Arabic script by providing educational tools and materials, organizing training sessions for experts on the Arabic script, and preparing reading textbooks, teacher manuals, and educational media; in addition to another program for the establishment of academic chairs.

This initiative also takes into account the social and awareness-raising dimension in the health field by posting infographics and videos in the African languages on the prevention from Covid-19.

The languages covered by the initiative are Hausa, as the second-largest language in Africa after Arabic by the number of speakers distributed over more than eight African countries.  The Swahili, as the third-largest by the number of speakers in more than seven countries. And the rest are Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Fu, Nobiin, Beja, Beni Amer, Yoruba, Comorian, the Somalian language Zaghawa; Luganda and Songhay.

The celebration of World Heritage Day on 18 April of each year is an occasion to highlight the rich, diverse, and authentic tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Islamic world.
This Day is an occasion to enlighten the wider public about the richness and diversity of the world heritage and archeological sites around the globe, and showcase the efforts exerted, as part of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972, to conserve and preserve this heritage from destruction and neglect.
In this context, we should recall the great attention paid by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) to preserve the cultural heritage in general, raise awareness to its role, sound the alarm from destruction during times of crisis. The support provided by the Organization to help restore and promote this heritage has been demonstrated in many referenced documents. These include advancing the Initiative on the Proclamation of 2019 as the Year of Heritage in the Islamic World, and the Islamic Declaration on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage in the Islamic World. All these documents stressed the need for immediate intervention and a contractual framework between the governmental sectors, the regional and international organizations, and civil society organizations to develop a shared roadmap to protect the cultural heritage.
Since 2019, ICESCO has adopted a new strategy based on a more inclusive and realistic vision to preserve the Islamic world’s cultural heritage. Following its inception, the concept started to show positive results clearly, encouraging us to look forward to further achievements in the protection of heritage components, primarily the cultural and civilizational heritage of Al-Quds Al-Sharif “Capital of the State of Palestine” against Judaization, looting and theft.
ICESCO has also provided the needed framework, most notably the adoption of the establishment of the Islamic World Heritage Center during the last Session of ICESCO Executive Council, held on 29-30 January 2020, in Abu Dhabi. These included the activation of the Islamic World Heritage Committee, the expansion of its missions, the development of its operating mechanisms, and the promotion of its roles, particularly in the Islamic World Heritage List. Also, the establishment of the Heritage Protection Observatory to identify the situation of and dangers threatening heritage in the Islamic world and the Heritage Project Fund, which will provide the necessary support for the authorities in charge of heritage in Member States.
This year, World Heritage Day is celebrating in exceptional circumstances amid the crisis of COVID-19, which has obliged over half the world population to stay home and led to the closure of most heritage sites, historical landmarks and museums, which used to be open for visitors.
Amid the current health emergency, ICESCO has launched several comprehensive initiatives to provide alternative programmes, including initiatives in the cultural field such as “Distance Culture,” which includes posting free training videos on the preservation of the cultural heritage on its YouTube Channel.
During these critical situations, ICESCO calls on world countries, regional and international organizations, to take necessary measures to limit the negative fallout of this pandemic on the cultural heritage sector in its entirety.
Let us draw strength from the protection of our civilizational heritage. Let us unite for a better future for humanity.
Let us rally together to overcome this pandemic crisis.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) will launch a series of online lectures on dealing with crises and catastrophes, on 20-21 April 2020, as part of the efforts geared toward countering the negative repercussions of Covid-19.
The two-day lectures programme includes six (6) lectures to be delivered by experts. The first lecture tackles the “Role of Public Relations in Dealing with Crises” and starts at 12:30 GMT+3. The second lecture explores “Public Diplomacy – Countries’ Key Tool to Face Covid-19” while the third lecture sheds light on “Health Crisis Management and Role of Various Sectors in the Management of Covid-19”.
On day two, the first lecture will start at 13:00 on “Major Information Strategies to be Used in Responding to Crises” while the second lecture will tackle the “Role of Technology in Limiting the Spread of the Pandemic”. The programme closes with a lecture on the “Role of Communication Technology and Information Applications in Supporting the Efforts to Counter Covid-19 Crisis”.
Participation in the lectures is open to anyone interested to join the specialists and people concerned. For participation, please fill in the form on the hyperlink below:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=pGPLp-wxGUy_4-eQKGz-ZJ2W6rESSRdHsOqGcHwPNbRUREQ2UDdFSlBFVzRWV01VVFdPWExGUUZXQS4u

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced the launch of ICESCO Short Film Award, as part of its “Distance Culture” under the “ICESCO Digital Home” Initiative. The award will be presented to the best three short films as follows: US$ 8,000, US$ 6,000 and US$ 4,000, respectively.

ICESCO stated that this award aims to encourage young people to be artistically creative, discover their talents in producing fiction and documentary films, and disseminate the culture of peace. The Award also aims to encourage film production, set up ICESCO Library of Short Films, anticipate what can be referred to as “life economy” and anticipate future working patterns, creativity, production, and jobs.

In addition, participating films should fall under the following categories: drama, documentary, heritage and folklore, human values, health and environment, children films, daily life in time of Coronavirus (COVID- 19), and comedy. The film may contain natural sounds or music without audible speech (nature and animal films).

To qualify for the award, the short film should:

1.      Not exceed 4 minutes in length;

2.      Not have been submitted to another competition before;

3.      Not undermine human, religious or national values;

4.      Be subtitled in one of ICESCO’s three official languages (Arabic, English and French);

5.      Be sent to film@icesco.org.

ICESCO also stated that the National Commissions and competent parties in Member States will take part in announcing the Award and ICESCO will set up a jury for selecting winning short films. The awards will be given at a special ceremony to be held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco.

It is noteworthy that as part of its Distance Culture initiative, ICESCO has created an award to three students in each of the following creative fields: Short story writing, making a painting; and musical composition or creative work. The value of the prizes stands at USD 6,000, USD 4,000, and USD 2,000, respectively.

Today, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) started publishing a set of video clips on cultural heritage topics, as part of its “ICESCO Digital Heritage” Initiative and “Distance Culture” Programme. The video clips document training programmes supervised by experts on the protection and preservation of heritage, especially in times of crisis.
These programmes seek to remotely train and build the capacities of the staff working in heritage fields and ensure the public’s benefit therefrom. Accessible on ICESCO’s website www.icesco.org, these programmes cover the following topics:
• General principles of the documentation of intangible heritage and national inventories;
• Museum management in the Islamic world;
• Documentation of cultural heritage through AI applications;
• Management of risks, crises, and disasters in heritage sites and museums;
• Techniques of inscribing heritage sites and landmarks on the Islamic World Heritage List (IWHL) and the World Heritage List (WHL);
• Rehabilitation of endangered handicrafts;
• Protection of underwater cultural heritage.
These programmes form part of the efforts of ICESCO to support the Member States and their competent authorities in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) and find alternative solutions to ensure the sustainability of their educational, scientific and cultural undertakings during this difficult period.

 The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) closely follows the developments and urgent situations triggered by the spread of Covid-19, particularly the closure of the educational institutions after the lockdown imposed by many countries. Within this context, ICESCO works in cooperation with Misk Foundation to support the international community’s efforts and Member States’ initiatives to counter this crisis by stepping up their measures, implementing effective intervention mechanisms and addressing the present emergency.

In this regard, ICESCO and Misk Foundation will provide urgent financial and technical support to 23 countries from all the geographical regions of ICESCO Member States. Four countries until now benefited from this programme, namely Palestine, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Niger.  The programme procured and distributed the necessary digital and audio-visual equipment to the relevant authorities to support the efforts of the educational institutions amid this crisis, strengthen their capacity, develop their performance in dealing with the challenges posed by Covid-19. Furthermore, the programme ensures the continuity of the educational process by producing audio-visual educational contents, recording and broadcasting courses via the internet, and providing the digital educational content for all learners. Such measures are likely to upgrade the mechanisms of distance education and promote their educational role in coordination with the National Commissions in Member States concerned.

Misk Foundation is among the major non-profit organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It provides support to different regions of the world in the fields of education, literature, culture, social sciences, technology, and the business sector. Misk establishes partnerships in its fields of action with international organizations, including ICESCO, through which joint programmes are launched in the fields of education, culture, media, and support for youth.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) expresses its support for the initiative His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, addressed to the heads of African states to create an operational framework to aid African countries in addressing Coronavirus (COVID-19) in order to allow for sharing expertise and best practices to handle the health, economic and social repercussions of the pandemic.
In this regard, ICESCO reaffirms its willingness to contribute to achieving the initiative’s objectives which are in line with its objectives and strategic vision and those of its cultural, scientific and educational initiatives launched since the beginning of the crisis. These initiatives consist of providing logistic support and technical advice and expertise in its fields of competence and action areas.
The Organization renews its support for all the calls likely to help its Member States, especially the African ones, in facing the present and future impacts of the pandemic and reaffirms that interstate solidarity and cooperation is the only way to overcome this crisis.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) has announced the nomination requirements, the Jury’s composition and evaluation of nomination files for 200,000 US dollar-worth ICESCO Prize for Fighting Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). The Prize has been earmarked by ICESCO to reward anyone who has discovered an efficient cure or vaccine against Coronavirus. To this effect, the Organization invites independent researchers, group of researchers or research institutions to send their nominations as from 15 April 2020.
In its call for nominations, ICESCO stated that in the face of the international health crisis that affects humanity, the world is in dire need of more medical and scientific research to find effective and sustainable solutions to today’s challenges. In response to World Health Organization’s appeal to the international community to “seize every opportunity to halt, contain, combat and delay the spread of the virus, and mitigate its impact”, ICESCO launches its Prize for Fighting the Novel Coronavirus (COVID19).
It added that a jury will be set up and chaired by ICESCO Director General. It will comprise two representatives of specialized international organizations and four scientists to be selected from leading world universities and internationally recognized research centers. The Jury’s Secretariat will be seated at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco.
To submit a nomination for the Prize, the independent researcher, group of researchers or research institutions having announced the discovery of an effective cure or a vaccine against the novel Coronavirus has to send a complete file to the Secretariat of the Jury, including:
• The Prize Nomination Form which is available on ICESCO’s website www.icesco.org;
• A detailed report on the discovery;
• CV of the independent researcher or group of researchers. In case of a research institution, the CV of the lead scientific expert;
• Patent registration with an official competent authority;
• All supporting technical documents likely to support the claim of the discovery (3 recommendation letters to support nomination).
As for the procedures and duties of the Jury, the Organization reaffirmed that upon receipt of the nomination files, the Jury will then convene to review the validity of the claimed discoveries, and may seek additional expert opinion and guidance from national health authorities, the World Health Organization or any entity it deems necessary. Based on the aforementioned, the jury will issue a decision to award the Prize to the independent researcher, group of researchers or research institution and will inform ICESCO Director General accordingly. The Director General of ICESCO will then inform the winner of the Prize Award.
The award ceremony will be held at ICESCO headquarters with the participation of the winner, who will receive ICESCO medal in addition to the Prize, the members of the jury, partner organizations and invited scientists and researchers.